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AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan gets interim protection from arrest

Asked if Delhi Police have any CCTV video to show that AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan tried to prevent a proclaimed offender’s arrest, the additional public prosecutor informs the court, ‘Light udd gayi thi.’

While granting the MLA interim protection from arrest until the next date of hearing—February 24—the judge directed him to join the investigation. (Express File)

A Delhi court Thursday granted AAP Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan interim protection from arrest in connection with an FIR registered against him on Monday for allegedly obstructing police from arresting a proclaimed offender.

Special Judge Jitendra Singh of the Rouse Avenue Court questioned Delhi Police why they had gone to arrest Shavez Khan, the proclaimed offender in question, when he was on anticipatory bail. “If Shavez Khan was on anticipatory bail, was the police right in going to arrest the accused… was this in discharge of their duty?” the judge asked.

“The allegation of the police team that the applicant was instrumental in facilitating the escape of accused Shavez Khan does not seem to carry weight as he (Shavez Khan) was already on anticipatory bail in the case in which allegedly police had gone to arrest him,” he said in the order.

Police alleged that the MLA “pushed and manhandled” officers threatening that action would be taken against them.

Judge Singh asked the police if they had any CCTV footage of the MLA’s alleged intervention in preventing the arrest of Shavez Khan. “Is there any footage? Let the court know what happened,” the judge said.

“Light udd gayi thi (there was no electricity),” came the response from Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Atul Kumar Srivastava.

“We have phones these days… police record every little thing on their devices these days,” the judge responded. “This is going heavily against you. Please take time and get me the complete facts of this case,” he added.

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APP Srivastava said it was not the first time Amanatullah had misbehaved with police. “I can show the court what Amanatullah Khan is… he’s habitual in mistreating police officers,” he said.

While granting the MLA interim protection from arrest until the next date of hearing — February 24 — the judge directed him to join the investigation. The judge also directed that the police questioning of him be recorded on a CCTV camera.

Police questioned the MLA at the Jamia Nagar police station on Thursday evening.

The MLA and his supporters have been booked under sections 221 (obstruction of public servants while they are performing their duties), 132 (criminal force or assault against a public servant while they are performing their duties), 121 (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 191 (rioting), 190 (unlawful assembly), 263 (resistance or obstruction to lawful apprehension of another person), 351 (criminal intimidation), and 111 (organised crime) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

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The FIR against him stated: “… the local MLA, Amanatullah Khan, came there with 20-25 people and said, ‘how dare you come here…’ (He) and his companions pushed and manhandled us and… threatened us… said ‘no one will know where you people have gone and your police and court papers will remain here’.”

In 2018, Shavez Khan and his associates allegedly attacked a group of men near Batla House. As per the FIR in the case, Shavez and a person named Shabbu approached the victims at an empty plot along with four other men. Shavez allegedly fired at the men, who were also attacked with rods.

Police sources said Shavez was arrested but granted conditional bail by a court in 2018, following which he stopped responding to court summonses, prompting the court to declare him a proclaimed offender.

Nirbhay Thakur

Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University. Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials. Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey. 2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police. Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More

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